Saturday, August 2, 2025
63.6 F
Beckley
More

    Ghostly tale of Burnt House lives through strange W.Va. town name

    BURNT HOUSE, W.Va. — Motorists traveling WV-47 between and are sure to have noticed the sign for the village of Burnt House and wondered about the name. Like every good town name in West Virginia, there's a story behind it. In this case, it's a ghost story.

    Advertisement

    The tale goes something like this: in 1855, there was a tavern along the highway in Ritchie County, among the more fashionable rests along the way. As it was known, the Harris Tavern was built in 1836 by Jack Harris, his son William, and three slaves.

    After a time, it was rumored that peddlers who came to the tavern were rarely seen again. Neighbors also noticed that a slave girl named Deloris, of whom the younger Harris was noticeably fond, often appeared in clothing that peddlers ordinarily sold.

    One night, a stable boy saw William Harris cut the head off of a peddler with a corn knife. He said Deloris helped clean up the blood and drag the body to a nearby hollow for burial. Some still know the burial ground as Dead Man's Hollow.

    Advertisement

    News of the alleged murders reached a stagecoach company, which hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to investigate, and soon after that, Jack and William Harris sold the tavern and disappeared. Included in the sale were two slaves, one of whom was Deloris.

    According to most versions of the legend, Deloris was angered by her treatment. One day, she dressed in her finest clothes, climbed to the glass-windowed lookout at the top of the tavern, and set fire to the building. She burned to death with the house.

    Burnt House, WV, appears along Grass Run, a tributary of the South Fork of the Hughes River, in a 1906 Topographic Map.

    Locals afterward claimed that her ghost returned repeatedly, wailing through the night. Her apparition danced wildly in the ruins before drifting into Dead Man's Hollow, where it would disappear.

    The phantom would return again and again until 1882, when William Harris, who had been masquerading as one Tex Howard, was hanged in Texas for robbery and murder.

    Advertisement

    That night, a storm broke out over the village, and the ghost of Deloris could be seen dancing over the site of the ruined tavern. Finally, with a wild scream, she disappeared over Dead Man's Hollow for the last time.

    Later, a two-story building, the Reynolds Hotel, replaced the old tavern.

    I spoke recently with the present owner, who's renovated the hotel as a home and reports that there is no sign of a ghost but that there is a strangeness, not unpleasant, that seems to permeate the neighborhood.

    For one thing, he says, birds in remarkable numbers frequent the old hotel and attempt to roost there. And there is a notable lack of insects, perhaps because of the number of birds.

    Advertisement

    This ghost story is also told by West Virginia story-teller Susanna Connelly Holstein in the article "."

    Read also:


    The photo used above to represent the long-gone Harris Tavern at Burnt House is an image of the Sites Homestead at Seneca Rocks provided by photographer Jesse Thornton. His photography is available through his website, .


    Sign up for a FREE copy of West Virginia Explorer Magazine in your weekly email. 

    Advertisement
    David Sibray
    David Sibray
    Historian, real estate agent, and proponent of inventive economic development in West Virginia, David Sibray is the founder and publisher of West Virginia Explorer Magazine. For more information, he may be reached at 304-575-7390.

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    Hot this week

    Unique northern panhandle of West Virginia created by historic dispute

    WEIRTON, W.Va — West Virginia's remarkable shape is partly...

    August in West Virginia: When mountain customs come home

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — August in West Virginia is a...

    Wild and Wonderful: A journey through West Virginia’s most beautiful places

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There's a reason West Virginia is...

    Historic West Virginia heat waves and how the state can recover its coolness

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While known for its forests and...

    West Virginia to host first-ever Spartan Trifecta World Championship in the U.S.

    CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia will make history in...

    Topics

    Related Articles

    Popular Categories